Police step up vigil in Udupi distt amid row over banners

Udupi city municipal council, however, said that permission has been given permission to display the banner for three days as part of the Independence Day celebrations and it was not illegal.

The security was heightened in Udupi on Tuesday in the wake of communal tension prevailing in neighbouring Shivamogga district over objections by Popular Front of India (PFI) against portraits of Veer Savarkar put up in that city.

On Tuesday, 10 policemen, including an officer, were deployed near the banner. (Representational photo)

The controversy erupted in Udupi over police being deployed near a banner calling for Hindu Rashtra (A Hindu Country). The poster that was installed ahead of the Independence Day celebrations, features freedom fighters Subhash Chandra Bose and VD Savarkar. The police were deployed after the Popular Front of India (PFI) wrote to the district administration demanding the removal of the banner placed at the Brahmagiri circle in Udupi city.

On Tuesday, 10 policemen, including an officer, were deployed near the banner. “Freedom was not alms given by the British for non-violence,” read the banner. “On this 75th Independence day, let us remember the revolutionary leaders Veer Savarkar and Subhash Chandra Bose who defeated the British with a revolutionary struggle and freed the country from their misrule,” it added.

After the photos of the banner began circulating on social media, PFI had given a memorandum to police to remove the banner from the circle on Monday. Udupi city municipal council, however, said that permission has been given permission to display the banner for three days as part of the Independence Day celebrations and it was not illegal.

“Permission has been taken to install the banner with the photos of freedom fighters. Now after the complaint was lodged by PFI, considering the incidents that took place in Shivamogga where a person was stabbed for installing a banner, we have asked for police deployment at the location to maintain law and order,” said municipality commissioner Uday Kumar Shetty.

Udupi superintendent of police, N Vishnuvardhan didn’t answer the calls despite repeated attempts made by HT for comment . Another senior officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that the police were deployed to avoid any conflict in the area. “It is important to avoid any incident like Shivamogga in the district over a poster. The decision on what should be allowed on the poster is left to the district administration, our job is law and order,” the officer added.

The controversy over the Savarkar photo surfaced in Bengaluru as well. A word of war ensued on Twitter after objections were raised to a photo of Savarkar being displayed at Majestic metro station.

The painting, hung next to the stairs of the west entrance of the station, has Chandrashekhar Azad and Udham Singh in the foreground with Savarkar on the top left corner.

“Hello, officers of BMRCL, why have you put up Savarkar’s photo? What is his contribution? Why should we respect someone who apologised to the British? Didn’t you get anyone else, whose order is this?” questioned a Twitter user, who goes by the name Bhutva Karnataka.

Another user Deepak Pai, however, said, “Well-known agents of the British who divided India are Jinnah and Nehru. Savarkar is a freedom fighter. Indian parliament does have Savarkar photo. Do you have the guts to remove it?”

BMRCL managing director Anjum Parvez could not be reached for comment.

An official said the painting was part of artworks procured from the Chitrakala Parishath six months ago following instructions from the Union government. “Hundreds of paintings have been procured to be used at metro stations. However, we didn’t pick and choose which of the leaders should be painted. The selection was done by the artists in Chitrakala Parishath,” he said.

With Agency Inputs